Broker-Chapter 188

Lillian sat on the couch in the hotel room that had been arranged for them. It was less a hotel room and more a large apartment. There were several rooms branching out from the common area and a mezzanine level with more rooms attached. It was a little unsettling that a place like this even existed, in her mind. She knew how much it cost just to get a simple hotel room. A place this lavish must cost many times that amount. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

She let out a sigh and stared down at her fists as a small avian head poked into her field of view, nipping once at her knuckle. She glanced at Alphonse and smiled, reaching up to stroke his head. “Hey buddy, I’m okay.”

“Up late?”

She turned to see Marta walking into the room in her anime-themed pajamas. She had her brown hair up in a bun and was holding a mug in her hand.

Lillian rubbed her neck, “Yeah, Snow crashed a bit ago,” she said gesturing to the room she’d come out of, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Thinking about the dinner meeting?” Marta asked, sitting down on the side opposite of where Al was perched.

Lillian leaned back in the couch and sighed, “Yeah. I’ve never seen that side of things. I just kinda figured that the people making things happen for us heroes were thinking about the good we could do first.”

“A little naive,” Marta said gently.

“I know, I just kinda hoped, I guess,” Lillian said.

“Disillusioned?”

“No,” Lillian said, “More surprised, I could see Sapporo and Bandit staying out of it. It took me a moment to pick up on what Sonya was angling for. That really isn’t my speciality,” she said with a sour laugh, “She explained it to me but I really don’t get why I need to know how to talk to people like that.”

“Because it’ll happen one way or another. You’re going to meet people with power who use their words as weapons. Seeing through the bullshit is part of the job,” Marta said, “Sonya… went a little hard today.”

“Really?” Lillian asked.

Marta laughed, “Yeah, honestly she was planning on playing nice with them until that comment about you guys. She’s protective of you. Just think of it as her losing her temper a little.”

“Seemed pretty calm to me,” Lillian said.

“Then imagine her angry,” Marta poked, squeezing Lillian’s shoulder, “She’s got your back, she wants you to succeed more than anyone. She’s a businesswoman though and making money is part of it. A lot of that goes right back into making sure you guys have the support she thinks you deserve.”

Lillian smiled despite herself, “It was just a little scary, I guess.”

“Scarier than a dungeon?” Marta asked.

“A little, if I’m being honest. I know dungeons, I know monsters, I can handle them. I’m strong,” she said and clenched her fist in front of her face, “I don’t know if I can play those kinds of games. I just don’t think like her.”

“I think you handled yourself well. It may not be your thing but you adapted quickly enough,” Marta said with a shrug, “Just know enough to see through the mess and let people like Sonya handle the more difficult ones. Snow is a very clever girl, lean on her.”

Lillian relaxed and looked up at Marta. She hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to the woman during her training. Her role had predominantly been to watch over Sonya and not engage too much with the aspirants. Even so, Lillian could tell that she’d been keeping an eye on her and the others as well. Anyone who was that close to Sonya was good people as far as she was concerned. She smiled, “Thanks.”

One of the doors opened to the common area and Sonya stepped out on her phone, “...it’s fine I said! I appreciate what you did, dear, thank you. You don’t have to apologize to me,” she laughed, “Oh that would be very nice. I’ll let them know when they get up.”

Lillian raised an eyebrow and shot Marta a look. Some things never change I guess, she thought wryly. She shifted a bit in her seat, I wonder who she’s talking to.

Sonya snorted out a laugh, “You might make a girl think you’re flirting, sir, be careful!” Sonya walked over to the couch and stopped next to it, winking at Alphonse who hopped to the side enough for her to sit down. Lillian chuckled and held out her hands for Alphonse to hop up onto her shoulder. She reached up and stroked the back of the bird's neck as Sonya wrapped up. “Thank you, Sapporo, we’ll talk more later,” she said and hung up.

Lillian watched a complex series of emotions war on her mentor’s face. Sonya seemed energetic at times and weary at others. It was troubling but she really didn’t know how to bring it up, “You handled yourself well today. I know it’s not your thing, but you really helped me and I appreciate it,” Sonya said quietly, still staring at her phone.

Lillian flushed and cleared her throat, “Thanks. That was Sapporo?”

“It was,” Sonya said with a nod, “He wants to take the four of you on a tour of some historic sites himself. He thinks he owes us for the excitement at dinner.”

“Pardon?” Lillian blurted. Her first impression was that he was something of a hardliner given his grouchy exterior. Now he was volunteering to take a bunch of young people on a personal tour of his homeland. Her lips thinned as she tried to imagine how it would play out.

“Since when were you on such casual terms with him?” Marta asked, drawing Lillian out of her thoughts.

“Oh he’s not so bad,” Sonya said, waving her hand dismissively, “He’s more relaxed talking one on one, Bandit told me to be myself with him so I was.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a gamble?” Lillian asked with a laugh, “You never know what kind of reaction you’re going to get from being you.”

“Hey now!” Sonya protested as Marta joined in on the chuckles, “Rude!”

Lillian caught Sonya smiling despite the playful jab and grinned back. She rubbed her neck and looked away from Sonya to take in the room again. It was strange, like meeting your high-school teacher in a supermarket and realizing that they had a life outside the classroom. Sonya had been a mentor and a pillar of support for Lillian since she’d arrived at the camp. Now she was a friend more than she was her sponsor. She let out a sigh and flopped back onto the couch, “This place is huge, how much did it all cost?”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Hm?” Sonya glanced around, “Not sure, the Japanese Government set it up. They’re trying to make a good impression on you in particular.”

Lillian frowned and crossed her arms. She remembered the conversation with Bandit in the car but he hadn’t provided a lot in the way of information. Frankly she’d put it out of her mind just to avoid the anxiety that came from it. “Bandit said something about the Emperor? Like, the Emperor of Japan? That’s a little…” she trailed off and shifted again in her seat, a little chill going up her spine, “How do I even react to that? What do I do?”

“It’s his grandson,” Sonya said.

Lillian gaped at her, “What?”

Sonya crossed her legs and examined her nails. Lillian got the impression she was trying to make it look like it wasn’t a big deal. It pretty much had the opposite effect by making the situation seem even more absurd. “The Emperor adores the boy from what I understand and the young man is extremely interested in the hero movement. He’s been following it ever since the flash. When we put out the commercial he saw you and was rather taken,” she tapped her nails on the arm of the couch, “Though what really got his attention was some leaked footage of you fighting during the dungeon exam.”

“Leaked?”

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“Yes, just some footage of your second time around with the mini-boss,” Sonya said, “A beautiful golden-flame wielding knight fighting a dragon is quite the visual.”

“I didn’t know it was circulating,” Lillian said with a frown, her heart sinking a little, “Even the second time that wasn’t an easy fight.”

“The Pandora Committee is looking into the source of the leak, it only surfaced for a little while before it was taken down pretty much everywhere,” Marta said next to her and gave her shoulder a consoling pat.

Lillian leaned forward and held her head in her hands, “I don’t want people to think I’m scary.”

She felt Sonya and Marta turn towards one another. Sonya snorted and Marta stifled a chuckle. Lillian whipped towards Sonya, anger bubbling up with the stress, “What’s so funny?” she demanded, “This is serious. You know the kind of image I wanted to create. We talked about it.”

Sonya was shaking with laughter, “Lillian, I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Lillian scowled, “Seriously! What are you laughing about?”

How can she just dismiss it like that? Sometimes it feels like she wants to give the world and other times it’s like she just doesn’t care how she comes across.

Marta pulled her phone out from her pocket and flipped through for a moment before pulling up a video. She turned her phone and held it out for Lillian to see. “You really should look yourself up when you have a chance, Lillian,” Marta said and hit play. The video showed the fight taking up much of the screen while a young man sat there in the corner. His mouth was hanging open as Lillian flipped over the dragon’s back and cut twice along its spine. It was a recording of a live stream.

“OOH! Look at that flip! Holy shit! Holy shit!” The boy shouted, “Guys are you seeing this? Crusader is such a badass!”

The comments whirred by.

<Are those tattoos part of her ability?>

<Woah look at all that fire!>

<The knight slays the dragon!>

<Bruh. Step on me, please.>

<I heard she’s from Georgia, same town as Firestorm.>

<What’s with that city? Atlanta’s pumped out two real champs.>

<Is that her team?>

<Crusader!>

Lillian stared in disbelief as it kept coming. She searched the screen for the view count. Her eyes went wide, “Three million views?” She breathed, the breath practically knocked out of her. Her head was spinning from the implications. That many people had already seen how she fought and that wasn’t including who they shared the video with.

“It came out a few days after your graduation. Shame it had to be taken down,” Sonya said as Marta pulled her phone away, “That was illegally acquired footage. The Pandora Committee was kind enough not to fine the kid, at least. Uninvited publicity really is the best when it’s positive,” she chuckled.

Lillian ran her fingers through her hair as Marta squeezed her shoulder, “They aren’t afraid of you. They’re rooting for you. Heck, they’re already talking about you in the same breaths as your hero.”

Lillian felt a heat behind her eyes as she let out a shaky breath, a warm tightness in her chest. She couldn’t identify the emotion and she really didn’t want to, it felt amazing and terrible at the same time; “Wow. I had no idea.”

“Just be yourself when you meet the kid,” Sonya advised, “Be genuine. It’ll mean a lot to him. You’re his hero now. You got a couple days to let it sink in and relax, come into it fresh.”

The young hero turned to the two of them, “Thanks, both of you. That was so… validating,” she got to her feet, “I need some sleep. I’ll see you both in the morning?”

“So long as Marta doesn’t drag me off to maid cafes first thing,” Sonya quipped.

“I think you’re more interested in that than I am,” Marta shot back.

Lillian grinned and gestured for Alphonse to hop onto her shoulder, she waved at the two bickering friends and hustled away a little bit lighter on her feet. “Good night!”

–

Sonya watched her go and relaxed onto the couch. Marta did the same, crossing her legs as she put her phone away. “The video was you, right?” Marta asked. Sonya glanced her way and gave her a wicked grin before shrugging. Marta rolled her eyes, “You are a terrible villain sometimes, playing up the heroes like that,” she teased before crossing her arms and looking back into the heavily decorated common room. “How are things really going?”

“About as well as can be expected,” Sonya admitted, “I’m trying to be as above board as possible with the majority of this. Legitimate connections are preferable for now until I can get a better feel for who I should invite into the club.”

“They’re still going to pull some concessions out of you, then?” Marta asked.

“Of course,” Sonya said, “That’s the point, though. The point has been made about the power dynamic and they’ll reorient their attitude towards us. They won’t be happy,” she smirked, “Neither will I with the concessions I’ll have to make to allow them to save face, but that’s business for you I guess. They’ll get some of what they want.”

“You’re going to let them get away with that?” Marta asked.

“No reason not to,” Sonya pointed out, “I can get some of it back in one way or another once I bring some of their leadership into the club.”

Ishtar can’t make an appearance here, even if few know you’ve come to visit. Some of them will also target you for what happened today, Ishtar pointed out.

Sonya glanced at Marta, “There will be blowback from at least that Kirihara guy. His pride was wounded today and once his bosses learn about what was at stake, I’ll be surprised if he has a job tomorrow morning,” she said. The property she’d acquired in Vegas from one of Otis’ supporters during the previous timeline included locations all over the world. Many of them were hot spots with a high probability of generating dungeons. Dungeons had a great deal of value in resources if they were maintained properly.

The land in question was scattered about Japan. As she and by extension ASTA was the owner of the land it would make things complicated if Japan wanted to acquire the land to set up bases around any portals that formed. She was intending to set up at least a small ASTA guild in the island nation. It was possible to hold it for herself and have her own people farm the dungeons but that would be a political mess that she’d rather just avoid. There were a few dungeons she wanted to keep for herself over suspicions of what tier could manifest there but otherwise the rest were best used to bargain with the Japanese Government.

Even so, she wasn’t going to let them go cheaply and it seemed Mister Kaguma was aware of that. He really did his research. She thought with a smile. I’ll bump the price up just a little more to smooth some tempers but only after they all panic over the revelation.

She snickered to herself before going serious, “We’ll be going with Lillian and the others for the next few days to explore the city and visit a few places. I want you to keep an eye on things. The Pandora Committee has already agreed that you can react if necessary.”

“They’re easing restrictions on mythics, then,” Marta said.

“Yeah, I imagine the Vegas act will get an amendment very soon. They’re still talking over the specifics but progress is being made,” Sonya said and got to her feet, stretching her arms. “I think it's bedtime, don’t you?”

“I’ll stay out a bit longer,” Marta said, “Want to revel in finally being here.”

Sonya turned to her friend and smiled, “You’ve earned it.”